Furnace-charging machine



Oct. 5 1926. 1,602,073

H. R. GEER FURNACE CHARGING MACHINE Filed April 15, '1922 s sheetsfsheet 1 ugaeux

INVENTOR Harry Geer; 96015,

ATTO

Oct. 5 1926. 1,602,073

H. R. GEER FURNACE CHARGING MACHINE Filed April l5, 1922 3 She"s-Sheet 2 /Tyg f ,22

larr' 62171 ATTORNEY Patented Get. 5, 1926.

'HARRY `GREEK', :OF JOHNSTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA.

LFURNACE -CHARGING LI'A'CHINE.

Application led April My invention relates to vappaiatns for charging furnaces, and is particularly adapted 'or'charging materialsvof various kinds intovopen hearth steel furnaces of any type,

'5 T he Vprevailingl@zinds oil-open hearth urnace-charging machines, including both the high and low type,eniploy tracks comprising` -two widely spaced arails, on Vwhich .they are operated, extending lengthwise and 1n irent or a rowvot tnrnacesand onthecharg ingl floor thereof, and by reason oie 'this style construction they require a much greater width ot'oor space than my machine, which has only one rail on the lioor and another rail ahoi'e the Jiui'nace, which vlatter may be adapted .to carry charging; cars, which in 3o turn loic and transportthe nsnal charging hores conv ling the material to 'he-charged, such asp g iron, scrap of Various kinds, or limestone,.magnesite, dolomite, sand, etc., etc. certain prev-ions open hearth Yfurnace ig' the low or tloor type of charg- L n'iachines, tioorlspaceis not available rfor ot metal-delivery tracks, in which case ,it is customary to deliver the'molten pig` metal to Vthe 'nrnace in Very large ladies carried s, which transport said ladies over 'the charging machine, and this lis a Very hazardous and confusing` practice, and especially so in a very long' building, and c1 f frequent inter-terence of one crane r h anliither or with the charging machines, and also interrupts .the general Ylloor operations,rthns slowing down A.the Ywork of such a plant.

v i reason oi iy arrangementfand,con- `action ywith a single Afloor rail, the .chargmachine may he so arrangedas to fleaye ently wide space between -it-v and the columns or wall ci the hnilding,al Nr vroem for'the hotlmotal ladles to -rpass ed the charging machine, even Ithough 1922. Serial No. 553,138.

the space V.loetween the urnacefand the ,wall or columns o'-the `hnildingis nogreater than heretofore customary. The yarrangement of my machincalso allows the piling` orrefractory andother ,materials on the fioorat ,l0- cations .nearer .the furnaces than with wthe other types, and consequently greatly yfacilitates .and fecomonizes the operations 0n this account.

In prior machines vthe operator ahas this seat and controls arranged on one of the quick-moving ,portions ror the apparatus, which .carries fthe charging loar vvand which reciprocates backwardand -forward, and this is .annoying` Ato vthe voperator :and :makes .it ditlicu t .for him to conduct fthe operations with .the necessary delicacy `and skill, and frequently .result-s lin breaking the V.door jambs of the inrnacesorother constructions. ln my arrangement the .operator ,andcontrols `are:arranged on a stationary portion of .the .,appara'tus, which results in more rapidand elticient control ,and operation. l also provide .a motor-operated Alocking bar, which makes .this operation ,muchfeasier vfor the operator ithan the prior Vmanual ,movement, while at-,the same time ymuch safer.

l" .also yarrange the arm motion o' vmy machine hy employing an L-shaped iframe suspended on radial links, `operated by crank motion, which .eliminates the .customary trunnion'hearings vot` lprior .machines and aliiords Y a vmuch vmore rigid frame than heretofore employed..

alsorarrange side, supports .for vthe chargarm whichnre formed integral with or securely.mounten` .on .the .main truck frame',v y

which eliminates iinnecessaryor destructive stresses in vthe trolley .and fother parts due to pushing the charginghox cars romplace to place at `the furnaces, as required.

My :machine .consists generally fof' ,a metal 'frame .work having an ,upright vportion in the `iiorm of .standards 4or yposts of substantial width .having` 1wheeled truckson which theirlowerends are mounted; and supported hy Said standards. areiapair oflheavy` girders extendiifrgl yhorizon'tally .and secured -and braced thereto. `,On the forward ends of these girders is [a Atruck vladaptedtocrun Aon a rail monntedon other stationary gil-ders shove .theffurnaces, whilelthe Atnuck's lat the lower endsoi" the .standard-s are adapted to -run .on fa rsingle =rail on the furnace charging floor. n carniage is provided .adapted to be mov yd forward and backward on a pair of rails carried by the horizontal girders, and secured to the carriage is the crank or angle-shaped rear portion of the charging arm, the upper end of which is carried on links, pivoted to it and the carriage, which are spaced apart and so inclined that the swinging movement of said links will raise and lower the charging bar in a tilting manner as hereinafter more fully described. Secured to the lower part of the angle-shaped portion is the charging bar, the forward end of which is provided with a flange adapted to engage with the usual charging boxes, raise them from the charging cars, project them forward, and then rotate them to discharge their contents into the furnace, and then by reverse movements withdraw them and put the empty bones on the cars again, and this operation is repeated with other boxes.

From time to time the train of loadedV cars carrying the charging boxes must be moved-along their tracks so that each box must preferably register with the door openings in order to obviate unnecessary longitudinal travel of the machine, and this may be accomplished very well by my machine, as it may be traversed on its tracks while the end of the bar is against the train of cars to push them in either direction as required. rlhe forward portion of the charging bar is, at such time, adapted to rest in a socket formed in the frame, and the upper part of the rear end or L-shaped portion is wide and provided with substantial means for securing it to the rest of the structure, thus preventing sidewise displacement or deflection, so that in these respects my machine is much stiffer and stronger than the prior ones which do not have these features. Motors, gearing and connections are also provided for traversing` the carriage, to move the charging bar backward and forward; another motor and connections are provided to tilt the bar upwardly or downwardly, and power mechanism is also provided whereby the flanged end of the charging bar is locked to a charging bonv and unlocked from the same, and motor driven means are also provided for rotating the boxes to discharge their contents into the furnaces and to turn them upright again.

rEhe arrangements of the links at the supporting end of my charging bar is such that they are inclined toward each other, and their aires, if prolonged, would meet at a point near the rear end of the L-shaped portion of the charging bar, so that their axes may be said to focus at that location. A swinging motion of these links in a backward direction, by reason of their inclinations and arrangements, will cause the bar to tilt upwardly, and a swinging movement of the links ina forward direction will cause the charging bar to be tilted downwardly, while the rear end of the same is substantially stationary.

A seat is provided for the operator in a cab mounted on the stationary portion of the apparatus, and various power means are provided for the different movements, which may consist of electric motors with the usual switches, rheostats or other convenient controis, and provided with mechanical connections, such as shafts, gears, worms, worm wheels, cranks, etc.

laving thus given a general desc liption of my invention, l will now, in order to make the matter more clear, refer to the annexed three sheets of drawings, which form part of this specification, and in which like characters refer to like parts Figure l is a vertical transverse diagrammatic section of an open hearth steel plant illustrating the application of my invention which is in side elevation; Figure 2 isa top plan view of my charging machine; Figure 3 is a rear end elevation thereof; Figure Ll is a vertical central longitudinal sect-ion elevation through the charging arm; Figure 5 is a transverse section through the charging arm taken on the line V-V of Figure i; Figure (i is a vertical sectional elevation taken on the line Vl-V of Figure e; Figure Y is a vertical transverse sectional elevation through the rear end of the charging arm, the section being taken just back of the split ce, lar and looking in the direction of the collar; Figure S is a detail sectional elevation through the cross head on the r end of the locking rod, showing the crank arms, etc., and Figure 9 is a transverse sectional elevation through the swing-hinged arm taken on the line lX-X of Figure 3. Figure l0 shows the hinged bracket arm and the bar of the charging arm in their intermediate and rear positions indicating that when these are swung rearwardly on the swinging links the charging bar is tilted upwardly and then swung in reverse direction the charging bar is tilted downwardly, Vas further explained herein.

Referring now to the characters of reference on the drawings 1 indicates an open hearth furnace in general, which is shown as an open hearth steel melting` furnace of the gas-fired type, but this may be an electric furnace or any other type of furnace into which material may be charged by an apparatus; 2 is the charging car of the general type heretofore usen, and the cars are generally made up into small trains and transiorted on standard or narrow gauge tracks in front of the furnaces as illustrated. These ars carry charging boxes 3 which are adapted to contain any materials to be charged into a furnace. The charging box 3 is provided with a groove or socket 4 in the rear end thereof, and also with a hole o as illustrated adapted to jreceive the fflanged end Gl ofthechargingbar 47 and thevend 46 of the Vlocking rod 45,-this detail beingsomewhat Vsimilar to that heretofore used, but the manner of operating the locking bar is different as will hereinafter be more fully describec.. The principal overhead portion of my charging kmachine is comprised of a pair of girdersor beams 6,-'the `forward ends of which are carried on a track supported on. fixed girders over the rear side of the furnace and are mountedon suitable wheels as illustrated, while the vrear portion is carried on a single floor rail G9 as illustrated. A movable carriage 7 is mountedron the rails 8 secured to the girders 6, and is adapted to be moved backward and forward longitudinally thereof, the forward position being indicated by the dotted wheel and the rear 1position illustrated by the wheels 2l in full lines in vFigure l. yibis-carriage is mountedon rails 8 and is provided with an electric motor 9 geared to the axle l0 of the pair of front 'wheels 2l in order to move the carriage backward and forward. A motor yll is provided for operating the hinged bracket arm 25 and this is connected to the operating shaft l2 thereof/so thatA the revolution of the motor in either direction will cause lthe links 24 to swing and the hinged arm 25 to similarly swing backward and forward in a substantially vertical plane and 'to consequently tilt upward or downward the charging arm 4'? attached thereto and `forming part thereof.

lt should be noted that as illustrated in Figure l, while the charging bar is substantially horizontal, the forward link or hinge member 24 is inclined from the vertical and its lower portion is in the rear of its upper portion, while at this timethe rear link or hinge member 24 is approximately vertical and its upper pivot may be somewhat higher, as shown, although it may be on the same level or otherwise as desired. ris these links or hinge members are swung toward the rear by the action of themotor ll, this causes he charging arm 4? to tilt upwardly, and the forward part of the same will be ,lifted to a considerable extent, while the rear lower corner will ren'iain-substantially stationary. rllhis is due to the fact that the forward link will, by reason of its prior inclination, rise more quickly than the rear link during their rearward movement, so that the forward pivot of the hinged end 25 will rise more than the rear one, with the result of tilting the charging bar npwardly as described. A reverse movement of the links will cause the charging bar to be tilted downwardly.

rl. motor lis provided, which vis mounted on the web 14 of the hinged end of the charging arm and provided with a shaft l5,

n I n on which the worm 16 Vis secured. A worm wheel i7 is provided mounted fon a 'shaft 18, and its other end Ais provided with a beveled pinion I56, which is adapted to mesh with the beveled gear 55, which is secured on the inner rotatable portion 49 ofthe charging arm. The revolution of this motor will rotate the inner portion '49 of the charging arm 47 and turn the charging boxes correspondingly.

The 'linksor hinge members24 are pivoted with upper pivot joints 28 land links 22 are provided and pivoted at 26 to the rear iinged member' 24, as illustrated, and are pivotally connected with the crank varms 19, which are mounted on the operating counter shaft l2, which is geared to .and operated by the motor ll. The revolution of this motor will cause the hinged members 24 to swing vvin either direction las de sired to tilt the charging arm up .or down as previously described. 2O is the rear-axle for the carriage 7 and is provided with a pairof rear wheels 2l as shown, and 23 indicates the rear end portion ofl thc-carriage frame, and pivoted or hinged joints 26 arc provided between ythe hinge members 24 and thc hinged end 25 of the'charging arm, while 2 indicates vthe standards or :upright side frames of the machine. 29 `is the rear por tion of thecharging arm which is firmly sccured to the hinged portion 25 by a strong ly bolted connection as illustrated, so lthat it can be removed for repairs and replaced. 30 is a motor mounted within the rear jportion 29 of the charging arm and Vis provided i' with a locking rod 455131 is the shaft therefor provided with a worm 32 mounted thereon, and the worm gears 33 are adapted to mesh therewith and be driven the worin 32, and these worm gears are mounted on crank shafts, the upper portions of which are 84, provided with upper crank arms and lower crank varms 37, while the lower ends of these crank shafts are 88. Crank pins 86 are provided which are adaptedl to be operated within the slots or notches 43 of thecrosshead 40, which is mounted on the lockingrod, andthe revolution of these cranks, bymea'ns ofthe motor to which they are connected, will consequently move the locking rod 45 backwardor forward to project or retract its end 46 as desired. 4l is the ear end of the locking rod provide-.fl with a nut 42 to hold-the crosshead 40 in po-l sition against the collar 44. rlhoouter shell 47 of the charging arm is provided with radial ribs'48 to stiifen it and atthe same time serve as guides forV the inner rotatable portion 49, which latter is provided with a split collar 50 mounted on its rear end, secured together by means of the bolts 5l and fitting within the groove 52 in the rotatable portion 49, which collar, by abut- Jring against the adjacent parts, serves lto hold fthe said inner .rotating'meniber 49 .lon-

a Way as to rotaie the chargturn ii upside down and deenis ine the furnace, and by a these movements the Charging upright, withdrawn from the .70 -eared on the car, the Charging therefrom and 1be contents einiiiarij Charged. The 'Qing bei; is provided with Walls and a bottoni stop 75 the boundaries of said e yvaii aedi sueb i" g bei; and

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oiore c charging @are is i5 member i ine, a char ee swung' baek- 12 ar upwardly or rear portion is apwhich is mounted on epaeed apart and ie b ing machine, a char ien of Whiehis mounted 130 .ieee ebaigine' mao rear end f rnb bey nifiy ii i* fetionary. uruaee Char? n. a ing bar, the rear port "eriyai'd direction, *d ai'eiiip' bor: and itsV Cenei A' then the motor 13 is opeci;

die eh Within the furnace ebargi iiis ie che.

bex 3 erated to prol charging arin. in a insei'tin G4) in iii on a pair of hinged members spaced apart and arranged at such angles, that when the bar is substantially horizontal, a rear swinging movement of said hinged members will cause the bar to be tilted upwardly and a forward swinging movement thereof will tilt the bar downwardly, and means for swinging said hinged members.

l. ln a furnace charging machine, a charging bar, the rear portion of which is mounted on a nai-.r of hinged members saaced aaart and arranged at suoli angles, that when the bar is substant-iall,v horizontal, a rear swinging motion of hinged members will cause the bar to be tilted upwardly and a forward swinging movement thereof will cause the bar to be tilted downwardly, and means forswinging said members and for traversing Vthem and the attached bar, in directions substantially coincident with the longitudinal axis of the bar.

5. A charging malsaine, comprising of standards ca:A ed on wheeled mounted on a silkr e rail on the charging floor, a pair of girders secured to ane tending forwardly and rearwardly from same, the forward ends of girders being mounted on a track above a furnace, a pair of rails on said girders, a carriage on said latter rails, means for traversing said carriage backward and forward` a pair of hinged members spaced apart pivotally Amounted on said carriage with their lower ends pivoted to a charging bar, and means for swinging said hinged members whereby the charging bar is tilted as desired.

6. A charging machine, comprising a pair of standards mounted on wheel trucks carried on a rail on the charging floor, a pair of girders mounted thereon and extendingV substantially in a horizontal direction, the forward ends of said girders being carried by trucks adapted to travel on upper stationary supports, a pair of rails mounted on said pairof girders, a wheeled carriage mounted on said pair of rails, a pair of hinge member spaced apart and pivoted to said carriage at their upper ends, a charging bar section pivoted to the lower ends of said hinge members, a charging bar secured to the lower parts of said section, having an outer shell, and an inner rotatable member, which latter is provided with an end flange and a locking rod'adapted to grasp and release charging boxes, and power means for traversing said carriage, for swinging said hinge members, for rotating said inner member, and for projecting and retracting said locking rod.`

17 In a charging machine, a structural frame, a-4 wheeled carriage mounted on the upper portion thereof and provided with power means for moving it backward and forward thereon, a pair of hinge members pivoted to said carriage spaced apart and extending downwardly therefrom, charging bar the rear section of which is pivotally mounted on the lowe 1rends of said hinge members, power means for swinging said hinge members, whereby the bar is tilted upwardly or downwardly as desired, the pivots of said hinge members being long to .provide inherent stability, and a charging bar removably secured to said section.

8. In a charging machine, a structural frame, a. wheeled carriage n'iounted on the upper portion thereof and provided with means for moving' it backward and forward thereon, a pair of hinge members pivoted to said carriage spaced apart and extending downwardly therefrom, a charging bar the rear section of which is pivotally mounted on the lower ends of said hinge members, power means for swinging said hinge members, whereby the bar is tilted upwardly or downwardly as desired, the pivots of said hinge members being of considerable length to provide inherent stability, nd a structural member provided with cheek pieces forming a notch adapted to receive the charging bar near its outer portion, thereby providing a firm lateral support therefor.

9. In a charging machine, a charging bar comprising an outer approximately cylindrical hollow shell having an integral upwardly extending portion at the rear end thereof adapted to be secured to an upper section, a motor mounted within said portions, a longitudinally perforated interior member, rotatably mounted in said shell, secured longitudinally thereof and provided with a flanged end adapted to cooperate with a. charging bon, a locking bar mounted within said longitudinal perforation and provided with means connected with the motor aforesaid for projecting and retracting the same. f

10. In a charging machine, a charging bar comprising an outer approximately cylindrical. hollow shell having an integral upwardly extending portion at the rear end thereof adapted to be secured to an upper section, and within which portion a motor is mounted, an interior longitudinally perforated member rotatably mounted in said shell and secured longitudinally hereof, and provided with a ftn `ed end adapted to co-operat'e with a chargng bon, a locking bar mounted within the longitudinal perforation, power operated meansvadapted to rotate said interior member, and means connected with the motor aforesaid adapted to project, and retract the locking bar.

In witness whereof I hereunto aflix my signature. l

' Y HARRY R: GEBR. 

